Design and Optimization of an All Terrain Vehicle for BAJA SAE INDIA 2019

Team Engines and Demons is the team of automotive enthusiasts from IIT Indore. Each year we designed and manufactured a whole new all-terrain vehicle from scratch to compete in BAJA SAEINDIA.

I joined the team in May 2017. The first year in the team, we prepared an all-terrain Vehicle focusing a lot on weight reduction for better performance and fuel economy. Together with learning manufacturing aspects of the ATV, I worked on the preparation of CAE Report and Design Documents like Design Report, Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), Design Validation Plan and Report (DVP&R). This opportunity exposed me to deep technical aspects of designing an ATV, thanks to my seniors. Though we couldn't clear Safety Scrutiny in BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 Ropar, we learned a lot as for the first time we attempted to design almost all of the components starting from Gearbox, Wheel Assembly to Brake Disc and Caliper, achieving the final weight of the Vehicle to be just 139 Kg - which was the lightest among all the participants.

Building up upon the lessons learned, with the aim of achieving better results next year strictly following the rules, and not compromising the strength, we designed an ATV with Optimization being our main focus. I took the responsibility of Design and Analysis Head of the team and led the team during the designing phase- coming up with ideas to optimize our design, brainstorming for achieving weight reduction without compromising strength, I encouraged all the departments to go through literature available and focus on optimization. introducing PLM tools and CAD version control tools to the design team, ensuring proper co-ordination with different departments, knowledge transfer to the next generation of the team through workshops, organizing workshop on Vehicle level simulations with MATLAB & Simulink from Mathworks, were my primary contributions as a Design and Analysis Head. For better team-bonding and practical knowledge of verification and validation methods employed in automotive industry, I also led the effort to organize an industrial visit to NATRAX- Asia's largest Testing Centre.

I got a chance to designed all the Wheel Assembly Components- Front/Rear Wheel Hub, Knuckle. Understanding all the Assembly Constraints. To obtain minimum un-sprung Mass, I worked for almost 3 whole months on structural optimization of the front and rear wheel assembly. The process I followed for optimization is documented through blogs on this website. 3D Models of this assemblies can be viewed on my GrabCad portfolio , or through the PORTFOLIO tab on this website.

Leading the Transmission Department, in addition to the overall Design & Analysis Department, I performed design calculations of the transmission system of the ATV to select an optimum gear ratio for best performance in all the events. I also designed unique powertrain mountings that would fit with one another in an accurate manner contributing for accurate positioning of powertrain components.

I also contributed to intelligent Ergonomic and Safe Design of the roll cage on CATIA. The roll cage members were placed in a way that in the event of impact, its members would deform away from the occupant. This was proved through rigorous static and dynamic impact analysis of the roll cage. I performed ergonomic analysis using mankin models in CATIA to ensure the best ergonomic posture, wide field of view and optimum pedals and vehicle-controls placement for the driver.

I once again prepared design Documents, performed Design Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), Design Validation Plan & Report (DVP&R) with the experience.

We came up with the best vehicle so far from our team. It was lighter than the previous season, tilting the weighing-meter at 136 Kg, even after being significantly larger in dimension, strong & ergonomic.